Now her nemesis Dummy has walked the plank Rice has called in the spinners to make it look like she really is a first stringer and not a bench warmer.

Nice try. Big deal.

I find it very hard to take this article at face vale. It sounds like a classic Washington leak for some ulterior purpose. What may not be clear yet, but the idea that Condaleeza Rice is the mover and shaker that has made the ISG happen seems ludicrous. The question is who needs cover for his role by leading everyone to believe Rice and Wolf are the real power. The obvious answer is Baker who needs it so Dubya can take his advice without being embarrassed by the appearance that Daddy is in charge. This seems nothing but a response by Baker to the recent speculation that Daddy's boys are taking over.

Unless this article is tongue in cheek, someone is blowing smoke up your ass.

Condolezza Rice has never in her entire career with the Bush administration initiated so much as a coffee break without direct and specific orders from the Oval Office. She has demonstrated consistently that she is an order-taker, not an initiator.

In addition to that, I think she has proven to everyone that she is not the sharpest knife in the drawer. The woman is rarely caught in an unguarded moment, but on those rare occasions she has exposed her lack of depth. When forced to speak extemporaneously it becomes very clear that she's in over her head.

So you (or the operatives who wished to plant this fantastic story with you) would have us believe that Condi has been running around behind the scenes, on her own, desperately trying to cobble together like-minded legislators who would conspire against the hard-liners to save Bush from himself? Hello!

Sorry but this is preposterous on its face. It reads like a badly written fiction novel of Washington intrigue. An "unlikely scenario" indeed!

Maybe Rice is trying reinvent herself to make a run for political office in 2008 and this is her "back story."

Tom Clancy, with all his talent, couldn't make you suspend disbelief on this one.

wow thanks for keeping us in the loop

Mark's article provides some terrific insider's perspective on the events that brought the Iraq Study Group into being. As seems to be the case with most inside information about the Bush administration, it serves to reinforce the perception of corruption, incompetence and dysfunction.

First of all though, we owe some credit to Representative Wolf. As pathetic as it seems, he appears to have pushed someone in the administration to actual open their eyes. The fact that it took more than 2 years after the destruction of the UN compound in Baghdad for anyone to screw up enough courage to make the suggestion, is where it gets pathetic. Still, there had to be considerable political and personal risk associated with being the first to speak out audibly.

It is outrageous that the Iraq Study Group has been allowed to work on a time line more appropriate to some obscure and abstract academic exercise. People were dying and it was obvious that events were progressing toward catastrophe. You don't think that the timing was dictated by the election cycle, do you? Frankly, if George Bush had any political insight, he would have realized how vulnerable his administration was, even before the ISG was formally organized in March. The Shiite mosque at Samara was destroyed in February and the horrendous sectarian warfare commenced immediately. By the end of May, the handwriting was on the wall for all to see. Waiting an additional 6 months abdicated any chance that useful information would arrive in time to allow Coalition Forces to make meaningful changes in their approach to the military conflict.

The story outlined in Mark's piece establishes the administrative details regarding the formation of the ISG. There is a microscopic speck of reassurance in learning that it was not originally conceived as a means for Bush Senior to rescue Sonny once again. Despite the good intentions that prevailed at the start, it’s obvious that things changed quickly after that point. The manner in which the ISG has been exploited for political cover validates the cynical instincts that many of us have developed regarding the Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld/Rice regime. Granted, there were capable and sincere individuals associated with the ISG. It seems clear that, from the administration's point of view, the primary advantage provided by the distinguished list of names was to deflect skepticism regarding the bizarre delay in releasing their report. Obviously, information gathered last April has no utility at this point. An expedited 30 to 60 day study then quickly accepted or rejected, would have served the nation's interest. As it has developed, the ISG has been a purely political exercise. It allowed some thin cover for staying the course until "we see the report". Too late and too lame. In fact there is considerable evidence at this point that the only people they managed to fool were themselves.

Events have progress to the point that the US military can not possibly assemble the troops and equipment necessary to substantially alter the outcome. Any opportunities that exist are in the realm of diplomacy. Having just written that last sentence, I don't whether to laugh or cry. Let me sum it up this way. The last 4 years have proven that the US and the rest of the world function pretty well with Iraq in chaos. There is no reason think that we can't sustain that for the indefinite, long range future. Sorry Iraq's! The objective that we must achieve now is to maintain functional stability in the surrounding Persian Gulf region while violent anarchy has its way with Iraq. That may be nearly impossible as well.

I just can't understand why the media continues to refer to Lee Hamilton as a good choice for the Iraq Study Group. This is the man who buried vital information regarding Iran Contra and oversaw the vitally flawed 911 Commission Report.

The failure of politicians and our media to educate the public as to the filthy underbelly of US foreign relations and its defining role in unravelling of our country is criminal